Book Review- The Year of the Great Seventh

I just finished reading The Year of the Great Seventh by Teresa Orts for a blog tour.

From Goodreads:

Sophie has always felt out of step—an outsider, even amongst friends in her high school with all the

hype about celebrity culture. Her life in L.A. seems to have been already written for her, but when her junior year starts, it all takes a drastic turn. When she crosses paths with the school's heartthrob, Nate Werner, they fall for each other in a way neither can understand. What they don’t know is that by giving in to their desires, they are unlocking an ancient Egyptian prophecy that threatens to return Earth to the dark ages.

To undo the curse, Nate and Sophie embark on an adventure that takes them across the country. But their quest is not only to save the world as they know it. It is also a fight for their very survival. Behind the scenes, there are those that are counting on them to fail.

I think the idea for the plot of this story was fantastic.  Mythology has always fascinated me so this played right up to it.  Unfortunately, I didn't like the characters or some of the writing.

Sophie seemed strong sometimes but then weak others.  The insta-love between her and Nate didn't ring true.  And it got annoying to read about her pining for him and how beautiful he was and how she couldn't live without him.  Um, no.  Nate was more the more believable of the two.  He realized that he shouldn't be with her and tried to stay away.  He was more stoic.

Then some of the writing was off.  Things were over-described and word choices were awkward.  Also, I'm not sure any parents (who seem as with-it as Sophie's do) would just sent their 16 year old to NYC without checking any references or anything.  I'm pretty sure the parents would be chaperoning.  Also, a taxi accident with the driver being drunk being an excuse for what happens at the end?  The accident would be too easy to look up and I'm pretty sure her parents would be all over the situation and realize that there was no accident.

So yeah, I did have some issues with the book. But that didn't stop the plot from being intriguing and engrossing.  And just when you think everything's good and safe, bam!  There's a cliffhanger that makes you want the next book in your hands as soon as possible!

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge: 39
2013 Debut Author Challenge: 8
2013 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 32
2013 Quick Fix Challenge: 17

*FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the author for a review.